MLS Schedule 2013: Best Rivalry Matches to Watch out for This Season

The Major League Soccer competition has kicked off for another season with what is set to be another thrilling year of domestic action.

There will no doubt be a plethora of great matches and goals for the season, as well as moments that leave us amazed at what we just saw, but it's the rivalries that will make another great year of domestic action on the American and Canadian front.

Rivalries are starting to grow strong in the MLS now, and 2013 looks like it will be another year of full-on rivalry matches that will leave us wanting more.

Read on to see the best rivalry matches out to watch out for this year.

The rivalry between Northern and Southern California makes for a fantastic rivalry in sport, and the San Jose vs. L.A.Galaxy one in the MLS is no different.

Galaxy have had the star players and the recognition that San Jose have not had throughout the years, and the pure fact that Landon Donovan will once again be lining up for the Galaxy makes this a must-watch fixture throughout the 2013 season. Donovan led the Earthquakes to two MLS championships and the Galaxy to two MLS cups—making for pretty compelling viewing indeed.

These two clubs really don't like each other that much.

Bob Levey/Getty Images

El Capitan

Sunday, March 17 – FC Dallas vs. Houston Dynamo, 1 p.m. ET

The Houston vs. Dallas rivalry in sport has transcended a number of codes and teams throughout the years, and it's done the same for these two teams.

Houston had the upper hand in this derby early, but Dallas have started to really step up their game in the past few years and have made this a much closer match than before.

This one will come in the middle of rivalry week as well—where the entire round is dedicated to league rivalries—and should make for a great match.

Simply put, there is no greater rivalry in the MLS than that of the Cascadia Cup, with the three teams involved—Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC—all genuinely not liking the other, with that showing on the field.

The fans from each of these three teams travel really well, and whilst it might only be an official rivalry since 2011 onwards, the reality is that this one has been brewing for several years and has been definitely in existence since around the 2004 mark.

A plethora of fixtures throughout the season should see plenty of opportunities for this rivalry to be taken in and appreciated right around the league.